A Different Path
by Sky 'N Scribbles
Summary: It's surprising how such a destructive chain of events could result after putting Hinata on Team 7 instead of Sakura. Rated T for blood.
1. Prologue

The crisp air was filled with the fresh scent of blood, and she inhaled it deeply, letting the beautiful smell enter deep into her nostrils. She didn't, in the least bit, regret what she had done. It was war, and after this, there was no turning back. Not that she wanted to, anyway. Her jagged medium length hair flew from her shoulders, resembling a bit like a short cape. Her slashed out forehead protector was lying on the ground of the debris, long forgotten. She kicked it once and sneered.

All around her, dead bodies littered the ground. Some were crushed against falling buildings, while others died of battle injuries. She, herself, was a bit scruffed up, but the worst she had was a nasty gash across her stomach that stung badly and bled relentlessly. She placed a hand above it and used the Mystical Palm Technique, the chakra glowing it's signature green. She looked up again. Chakra control was her best subject, but alone she did not destroy Konoha. It was help, from her comrades.

"Yo, you ready to roll?" called a voice above her.

She shook her head a bit. "Wait," she called back, her voice monotone, showing no traces of emotion. She could've smiled at her stone impression. "I need to find a certain body to make sure he's dead."

"Good god, you sure hold a grudge," he commented yet again.

"Shut up," she spat. "Why don't you get lost until I find him?"

"Whatever, hime."

"After this I swear I will track you down and kill you."

She stepped forward, dodging the sharp points of debris. Blood tainted the ground, staining the sandy floor crimson. She roughly kicked aside a body, ignoring the owner. She kept walking.

Soon enough, she had scoured all of Konoha and still no body. Where was he? If he wasn't dead yet, it meant that she had done all this for nothing. Not that she minded, though.

The fallen village was eerily silent, due to lack of life. Her footsteps echoed uneasily as she steadily walked forward, easily dodging the pointy bits of stone, wood and glass. She stopped at a familiar body. Iruka, one of her Academy teachers. He was alive, but barely conscious. His eyes were glazed over and he gasped for breath. It was then that she noticed the long gash across his back. It wasn't very serious, and she was quite sure that Iruka would live, but she ignored it.

"Why?" Iruka managed to choke out, glaring at her. "Why did you do this? I remember you were an average student in the Academy, but you held a lot of potential. Too bad you turned into something like..._this_."

"Before he or I left the village," she spoke. "I talked with Sasuke-kun. He knew my hatred. He knew my pent-up anguish of losing your loved ones."

"You...still had family. Everyone in Konoha...has a Will of Fire...they were also your close ones. And...now look what you've done."

"Everyone in Konoha? I'm sorry if I didn't realize the people who I hated were my close ones." she took on a sarcastic tone. "But of course you wouldn't understand."

"I...understand perfectly. My parents were killed during the Kyuubi attack - "

"That's not what I meant," she interrupted. "After your parents were killed, no one hated you. You made friends. You became a chuunin. What about me? After my loved ones died, everyone hated me. They discarded me. They cast me out like I was nothing, _nothing _to them. If I had the choice, I would destroy Konoha again and again and savour their horror and their pain each and every time."

"You're...sick." Iruka murmured, his breath stopping for a moment.

"You literally _are_ sick," she commented dryly. "Better find the cowardly refugees and ask them to heal you."

Iruka's eyes widened. "You...you know about that?"

"Seeing as half the village isn't here...I was a former Leaf shinobi. I know of the hollow Hokage faces."

"They...aren't cowards. They're just unable to fight."

"So then where's Naruto?"

Iruka smiled weakly. "You still blame him?"

"It's his fault. Of course I blame him."

"He's not here. Nice try, though."

She grabbed his neck and easily lifted him into the air with one arm. "Tell me where he is," she demanded. "I didn't destroy Konoha for the second time just to find he's not here. Where is he now? Absorbing senjutsu chakra and becoming one with nature again?" her voice became sarcastic. "If he is, I hope he turns into a frog!"

Iruka chuckled. "Not...really. He's...using the power of the Kyuubi."

"You seem to forget this is the Akatsuki you're talking about. We've taken down seven of full-fledged Tailed Beasts."

"Enough." she slammed him so hard against an unbroken stone wall that the stone itself cracked, and Iruka winced. "Tell me where he is."

"You can kill me," Iruka laughed. "But I'm not giving away Naruto's location."

"I'll do something worse than that," she responded. She lifted a kunai and slashed through Iruka's forehead protector. "Remember that. Soon, that will be your loved ones."

She Body Flickered just as her words sunk in.

She landed outside Konoha, where Zetsu was waiting. **"About time," **the black half growled.

"Oh, fuck off," she scowled at him.

"It's only been two years, yet Hidan has rubbed off on you so much - "

"I have a weed sprayer and I'm not afraid to use it."

**"Whatever. Let's get going. Tobi will not be happy if we're late." **

She nodded mutely as she followed him. She was absorbed in her thoughts. If he was truly trying to conquer the Kyuubi, then he must've turned to Killer B, the Raikage's brother, the one that had easily evaded Sasuke.

"I know where to find Naruto."

"Hn? And that would be where?"

"Let's tell Tobi we're looking for the Nine-Tails." It wasn't a suggestion. The girl was boldly ordering Zetsu around. She noticed the white half scowl with distaste, and she supported her order with a powerful glow of chakra from her right palm. Zetsu agreed reluctantly.

**"I'll go inform him," **the black side murmured as the two split in half, and the black disappeared into the ground.

She ignored him and walked on, leaving white Zetsu no choice but to follow. He knew he couldn't reason with her, anyway. Her mind and goals were set in stone for almost three years already.

_You two...this time, I promise, I won't let your deaths go to waste. _


	2. CH 1: Sasuke

Sasuke looked at his new teammates with a critical eye. First, the idiot. Clad in a bright orange and blue jumpsuit, with a white collar and a red sign at the back. His spiky blonde hair made him look distinctly like someone, but he couldn't remember whom. His forehead protector was carelessly tied over his forehead, and the metal gleamed in the early sunlight. His whisker-marked cheeks were flushed, because he had just sprinted over to the three logs, where he and the Hyuga were already waiting. It was quite clear that the moron would be no help whatsoever in the missions, possibly only a burden, so Sasuke skipped the rest of his attributes and looked at the kunoichi of the team.

Hyuga Hinata was a quiet one. Her short blue-black hair framed her face, and her forehead protector was tied loosely around her neck. She wore a white hoodie and navy blue pants. Sasuke knew she had a Bloodline Limit, but he couldn't remember which one. All he knew was that it was a _dojutsu_, and a powerful one at that. Her lavender eyes stared shyly at the ground as she probed her two index fingers together, her cheeks in a crimson color.

Sasuke mentally groaned. Was it possible she was blushing because she had a crush on him? Like so many of the other irritating girls? But she hadn't spared him a glance during their time in the Ninja Academy. She was interesting, this girl.

Grumpily, Sasuke stared at the sky, which was slowly turning bright. It had been at least an hour, and their goddamned sensei hadn't shown up.

"Damn it, Kakashi," he growled under his breath, hoping no one would hear. Unfortunately, someone did hear, and, unfortunately, it was the idiot.

The blonde turned to him, his mouth set in a pout. "Yeah. Our teacher is taking such a long time, _dattebayo_!"

Sasuke smirked. This kid had an interesting way of speech. He noticed that Hinata's blush had deepened, and he realized, incredulously, that she had a crush on the idiot. Was that even possible? For anyone to like the blonde moron?

"I-I-I'm sure that Kakashi-sensei is coming soon...S-S-Sasuke-kun." it was the first time he had heard the shy girl speak, and, even so, her voice was quiet and mousy. With a prominent stutter. She blushed a bit more deeply, her forefingers pushing faster and harder against each other. She was staring at Naruto.

_Wow. She defied the impossible. _

Sasuke never really remembered why his mother had warned him about not going near him. Her father had always stared at the whisker-marked blonde with contempt clear in his gaze. But after a while, he was used to the orders and did them without complaint. Besides, he was annoying beyond belief, so that helped.

A _poof _was heard and Kakashi stood in front of them, _Make-Out Paradise _in his hands. "_Yo_, guys." His headband was tied over his left eye, and his right eye darted back and forward, reading intently the porn book.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Naruto half-shouted half-whined. "You're five hours late, Kakashi-sensei! We've been standing here _forever! Dattebayo!_"

"Ah, ha, sorry about that," Sasuke couldn't see his face under his mask, but he was pretty sure the jonin was smiling. "But, today, there was an old woman crossing the street, she was nearly blind and deaf, and she didn't notice the bulls charging through the streets, so then I had to - "

_"That's a lie!" _Naruto shouted cheekily. Hinata just stared at her feet, quiet.

Suddenly, Sasuke heard a _bing! _as two bells simultaneously clinked. He looked up. Kakashi held up two bells, attached to a red string. They chimed together again.

"Okay, let's start his. You will attack me," Kakashi began. "And you must retrieve these bells from me. Whoever manages to get the bells gets lunch and becomes a genin."

As their bellies growled, Sasuke inquired rudely, "Oi, there's only _two _of those bells. There's three of us. Where's the third one?"

"That's precisely why there's a sixty percent rate of dropouts, Sasuke," Kakashi replied, jingling them together. "Only two of you will pass this. The third one will be tied to the log, watching us eat lunch and watch their teammates become genins."

_That one will be Naruto, _Sasuke thought, smirking. _Hinata knows Gentle Fist. She'll be useful on missions. The blondie, on the other hand..._

"Attack with the intent to kill," Kakashi suddenly said. "If you don't, you will never be able to get these bells from me. I will give you three seconds to hide. One...two.."

Sasuke jumped into a tree. Hinata hid behind a rock.

"Three!" Kakashi opened his eyes, before noticing the obvious figure standing before him.

"I challenge you!" Naruto shouted, pointing his finger at his sensei. "To a _fair fight_!"

_The idiot..._ Sasuke mentally scowled. _You're no match for him! _

Naruto charged, yelling. He swung his fist as Kakashi automatically ducked, still reading his book. He grabbed Naruto's fist and flipped him, letting Naruto land roughly on the ground, coughing. Then, he charged again, this time attempting a sidekick. Kakashi dodged nimbly and Naruto landed, spun around and tried a reversal kick. "I'm not done yet!"

Easily, Kakashi blocked it, before disappearing.

_What? _Sasuke looked wildly around him. _Where'd he go? _

Hinata activated her _dojutsu_. Of course. It was the Byakugan. It was rumoured that the Sharingan originated from the Byakugan, which meant that her eye technique was quite powerful. Suddenly, she yelled, "Naruto! Behind you!"

"Eh?" Naruto turned his head just as Kakashi yelled. "One thousand years of death!" with his hand forming the tiger seal.

Quickly, he stabbed it in Naruto's butt crack, and the boy hollered as he fell and splashed in the pond beside the training area.

_Shoot...Hinata's got herself revealed when she yelled at Naruto.._ Sasuke noticed Kakashi looking directly at him. _Never mind. We're both exposed. _

Suddenly, five Narutos emerged from the water, soaking wet and spluttering.

"I'm never going to give up! That's my way of the ninja! _Dattebayo_!" he yelled as he charged with all five of his shadow clones.

_Wasn't _Kage Bunshin _a jonin-level technique? Where did that idiot learn that? _

Kakashi easily defeated all four of Naruto's clones, leaving the real one on the ground, panting and sweating. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Persistent and stupid. A bad combination.

"Not...yet.." Naruto gasped stubbornly, but Kakashi sighed.

"You don't get it, do you?" he walked up to the wet Naruto. "You can't beat a jonin by yourself, much less a former ANBU member. You say that you're never going to give up? Ninjas know when to retreat, regroup, counterattack and win. All you're doing is throwing useless attacks."

_Now's my chance! His guard is down! _

Quickly, he flung eight kunais. Right as he thought they were going to meet their target, Kakashi blocked them with a careless wave of his hand.

_Shoot...now he knows where I am, exactly. _

Sasuke, giving up being concealed, jumped out of the tree, trying to kick Kakashi. Kakashi darted back just in time as he stuffed his book in his back pocket, his eye momentarily showing surprise.

"Ha!" Sasuke grunted as he sprung off his right foot and kicked him with his left. Kakashi blocked, and flipped him upside down.

Sasuke noticed the bells dangling at his waist. He reached forward, touched one of the bells, and was suddenly thrown back.

"Oof!" Sasuke let the air exhale out of him as he landed, undignified, squarely on his butt.

Kakashi stared at him, concentration laced on his expression. Or, at least, what little part of his face that was shown. He took out a kunai and was just about to attack when...

Kakashi whipped around and blocked Hinata's charge, making her stumble a bit before she spun on her heel, attacking with her palms. Blue chakra exploded out of her hands every time Kakashi blocked it. Sasuke watched in amazement, but Hinata's movements were slow and weak, and Kakashi easily blocked her attacks. Finally, right as Hinata was about to attack again, he formed a seal as she charged and she collapsed in mid-run, her palm still pointed forward as her lavender eyes trembled.

_What did he do? _

_"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" _Naruto yelled, as three more Narutos _poof_ed into existence beside him. He raised his leg to attack when Kakashi disappeared, leaving a bell on the ground, vulnerable and in plain sight.

"Sweet! Kakashi-sensei! You slipped up!" Naruto hollered gleefully as he leaned down to pick the bell up. Suddenly, a rope wrapped itself around Naruto's ankle and dragged him up the tree, bouncing.

_"Aiiiieeeeee! What the hell is this, dattebayo?!" _

_Idiot. _

The three Naruto clones _poof_ed, disappearing just as quickly as they had appeared.

Sasuke spun around, facing Kakashi squarely. Kakashi lifted an eyebrow, seeming mildly surprised. "Oh, so you've found me?"

"You should watch where you're standing. Your shadow gave you away."

_"That was totally playing dirty, Kakashi-sensei! I demand you let me down, dattebayo!" _

"It's fair for you, moron!" Sasuke shouted behind his shoulder. "You were the idiot that fell for the oldest trick in the book!"

He looked at Hinata, who was trembling, with her breaths coming in short, quick gasps. He put his hand on her shoulder and forcefully injected his chakra in her. _"Release!" _

Hinata gasped as she sat up. Her eyes flew around wildly. "Father...?"

"Oi, get a hold of yourself." Sasuke roughly shook her. "I think that was a genjutsu."

Hinata's eyes cleared in understanding, and she stumbled to her feet, rocking back and forth.

_Tch, she's weaker than I expected, _Sasuke thought disdainfully. _Maybe I should've freed the dude who's bouncing up and down on a rope. _He thought about it. _Nah. _

Sasuke reached in his pocket and flung four kunai from one hand, then flung another four from his other hand.

Just as Kakashi raised his hand to catch them, he noticed the explosive seals on them and his eyes widened. Sasuke felt a spark of hope. Was he going to get him?

A large explosion was seen and smoke flew everywhere. In the midst of it, a figure flew out. It was Kakashi. And he was unharmed. Sasuke gritted his teeth. _Shit. _

He started forming seals. Rapidly. Kakashi could charge in at any moment. When he finished the last seal of his elemental jutsu - tiger - , he positioned his hand over his mouth and blew. _"Katon: Gokakyouu No Jutsu!"_

A large stream of fire flew out of Sasuke's mouth, and formed into a fireball, while Hinata freed Naruto by stubbornly dragging a kunai over and over again on the rope. She leaned back, wiping sweat from her face.

"I'm not sure this is going to work..." she murmured, discouraged. "Maybe we could break the limb of the tree off and you could drag it along while we find a way to get it removed?"

"No way! _Dattebayo_!" Naruto insisted stubbornly in his hanging position, bouncing occasionally. "Try again!"

Sasuke ignored them and kept blowing, until a sufficient fireball was formed. It rolled over the training grounds, burning the ground and leaving a long, trailing crater, like a wound of the earth.

As it cleared, there was no one in sight but a Kakashi lying face down in one part of the crater. _Yes! I got him! _The bell hung limply from his side.

Sasuke was about to step forward and grab the bell, when Kakashi _poof_ed and disappeared.

_What? A Shadow Clone? _

A hand protruded from the ground and grasped at his ankle. Sasuke yelped, attempting to pull it away from Kakashi's reach, to no avail.

"Ack!"

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, his entire body was cased in the ground, with the exception of his neck and his head. Desperately, he tried to move - even jiggle - his body parts. He couldn't. Kakashi stood in front of him, bending down. "You see, that's why ninjas need to pay attention. You didn't realize that, in the smoke from your explosive tags, I switched to a _Kage Bunshin_?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He wished that he was free so he could punch his sensei in the face.

Kakashi leaned down further and said in a low voice, "How will you be able to kill Itachi if you can't even beat me?"

Sasuke winced, hatred already growing in his stomach. "Shut up!" he yelled. "I'll manage if some godforsaken sensei would just _teach _me!"

"Not until you pass the genin test." Kakashi stood up.

"Bastard!"

"Now, now. Watch your language."

A _thump _was heard and Naruto yelled. "Yes! Thank you, Hinata! I'm _free_, _dattebayo_!"

Sasuke could've laughed. Hinata's expression, completely flabbergasted and red, was priceless. Naruto then noticed the bell, sitting idly there. He pumped his fists in the air. "Whoo-hoo! Kakashi-sensei! You neglected this!" he leaned down to pick the bell up, and second rope snapped around his ankle. He flew up in the air.

_"What!? KAKASHI-SENSEI!" _

_And the idiot falls for it again. _Sasuke would've face-palmed if he wasn't neck-deep in the ground. Hinata looked surprised, and sighed a bit as she resumed cutting the rope. This time, she worked with more vigour and the rope quickly snapped. Then, she turned to Kakashi.

"You only have one bell now," she pointed at his waist. "How do we know that you are going to pass two of us, and not one?"

Kakashi looked at her. "You'll just have to find out."

Hinata took up a stance, one hand in front of her chest and the other extended, palms both facing forward. "Ha!" she grunted as she tried to hit Kakashi's heart. He blocked her again and formed the tiger seal.

"What...?" Hinata turned around, but her eyes were blurry. She swayed on her feet, and collapsed, motionless.

"Hee hee hee, I'll just eat here and Kakashi-sensei won't notice! I'll be at my best, and I'll beat him up!"

A little bit later, Naruto sat grumpily, tied firmly to the log. "This isn't fair, _dattebayo_!" he proclaimed, and further empathized it by kicking his legs in the air.

Sasuke and Hinata sat on either side of him, both exhausted and drained.

"You guys are the worst genins I've ever seen!" Kakashi snarled sharply. All three of their heads jerked up. "However, I'll give you another chance. After lunch, you will try again to attack me and retrieve those bells. But if you don't manage by sunset..." he looked at them, and somehow made the sunlight shade part of his face, making him look ominous. "You fail and must return to the Ninja Academy."

_"Ehhhhhhhhhh?!" _Naruto shouted from his tied-to-a-log post. "But that's not fair! It took me forever to pass the final test, _dattebayo_!"

"And you," Kakashi looked at Naruto. "You will not be getting lunch, because you sneaked off and tried to eat some while your teammates fought. If any of you two," he stared at Sasuke and Hinata. "Try to feed him, you two will automatically fail. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Y-y-yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good." Kakashi leaned back, and disappeared in a cloud of mist. Sasuke reached for his lunch and snapped open his chopsticks. _"Itadakimasu," _he said, practically growling it. He was quite frustrated that he wasn't able to beat Kakashi yet.

"Huh? Hinata? What're you doing?"

Indeed, Hinata was holding a piece of rice between her chopsticks and holding it up to Naruto's face.

"U-u-um...Naruto-kun, y-y-your hungry, r-right?"

Still confused, Naruto nodded.

"Th-th-then here. E-eat."

Naruto scrunched up his face. "But won't you fail along with me?"

Hinata blushed deeply. "I-I-I'll try not to get caught," she reassured him. "N-now eat."

Sasuke raised his food tray. "Here," he added. "You'll just be a burden to us if you're hungry."

Naruto smiled. _"Itadakimasu!" _he thanked, before leaning forward to take a bite of Hinata's rice. His mouth had barely closed on Hinata's rice before Kakashi appeared, storm clouds and harsh winds with him. He glared at Hinata and Sasuke with his singular eye.

_"You broke the rule!" _he thundered. _"Do you have _anything _to say for yourself before I send you back to the Ninja Academy?" _

"Yeah!" Sasuke yelled, unsure what he was going to say. "I don't give a shit if we're unable to become genins just because we fed Naruto! That's ridiculous! I'll leave the village to train elsewhere and kill Itachi no matter what!"

Hinata raised her hands to shield herself from the wind and cried out quietly, "Yeah, Naruto deserves to be fed!"

"Very well then..." Kakashi momentarily paused, and, in that moment, the over-exaggerating storm clouds vanished along with the winds. "You pass."

Naruto was so shocked at the moment that he let out a, "What, _dattebayo_?"

Kakashi ignored him. "If a person breaks the rules, he is scum, but if he ignores his friends in their times of need, he is worse than scum." he looked to the sky. "A wise man once said that to me. I'll tell you again; you pass."

Hinata looked so surprised that her eyes stretched out into the size of plates, and then she smiled a bit, looking a bit happy and joyful.

Sasuke smirked. "That's good, then. I won't have to pack my bags for a while - "

_"YEAH! WE DID IT! WE PASSED THE GENIN EXAM, DATTEBAYO!" _Hinata smiled a bit and Sasuke snickered. The boy was still as thick as a hundred-metre thick slab of stone.

"Bye," Kakashi turned around and raised his hand. "Tomorrow we will start missions. Until then, you can go home and relax."

Hinata nodded and Sasuke just grunted, however, Naruto proclaimed, "Yes! I can eat ramen now! Ooh, better yet - maybe I should go to Ichiraku!" the boy rambled on and on, not noticing that he was still tied to the log and his team was walking away.

Sasuke smirked again. _Let's see how long it'll take for the idiot to figure out. _

* * *

_Later that day, ten p.m. -_

"Sasuke? Hinata? Kakashi-sensei? OIIIII! I'M STILL TIED TO THE LOG, DATTEBAYO!"

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**So this is my first Naruto fic, trying it out. It's not going to follow the canon series entirely, but will have a few tidbits of "canon" I guess...if I did anything wrong, plz tell meh! **

**-Sky**


	3. CH 2: Hinata

**STOP! **

**I know you think that there's a new chapter. **

**There isn't.**

**I've just added a prologue. Read it if you want. The third chapter will come soon.**

* * *

**Statement for my readers out there: 6 reviews, 11 follows. WTDG (what the death god)? I'm thinking of posting a prologue just in front of chapter one. Thoughts about that? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That epic manga/anime series belongs to Kishimoto (his last/first name I cannot spell)**

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"Watch out! There he goes!"

"T-t-target at six o'clock!"

"But it's only two in the afternoon..."

"Naruto, you idiot! Just follow me!"

"Is everyone ready?"

The three of them, in separate positions around the target, hid in strategic positions, with the exception of Naruto, replied to Kakashi's request.

"Yeah."

"Y-yes."

"Of course, _dattebayo_!"

"Okay. How far are you?"

"Roughly four metres from the target. I can see him moving."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and examined the distance between her and the cat. "Not as close as Sasuke-kun. I-I'd say about ten metres." Her stutter was still there, and it only made her feel even more weak and shy. _No wonder Father doesn't want me as heiress..._

"Um...I have no idea. How long is a metre again?" there came Naruto's sheepish reply. Hinata could've sweatdropped had it not been the boy she had come to admire and like.

"One hundred centimetres, moron." There was Sasuke's annoyed snap.

"How long is a centimetre?"

"One hundred millimeters."

"How long - "

Hinata activated her Byakugan yet again, and then pinpointed Naruto's position. "I found him," she piped up, trying to stop the feud that was escalating to the point where words like, "Stupid idiot!" and "Who are you calling a stupid idiot, stupid idiot?!" were exchanged.

"I-I've found Naruto's location. He's about two metres away."

"Naruto! You idiot! The target's going to see you and run away!"

"Argh, shut up, Sasuke! Stop acting like a know-it-all!"

Sasuke seemed to ignore Naruto's attitude, and then all three of them heard Kakashi's voice.

"Okay, on the count of three, you will _lunge _for the target. Corner it. Don't let it get away. Ready?"

"Three..." Hinata heard Sasuke murmur over the radios.

"Two, _'tebayo_." There was Naruto's familiar quirk in speaking.

"O-o-one," Hinata almost whispered, trying to hide the stutter.

_"Go!" _Kakashi shouted, just as the three of them pushed off to grab the thing.

First, it scrabbled away from Hinata, only to be met by Sasuke on the other side. It turned around and blindly sprinted...right into Naruto's waiting arms.

_"Mrrowwwww!" _the feudal lord's wife's cat screeched, clawing at Naruto with all his force.

"Ow! OW! OWWWWW! BAD CAT! OW - " Naruto let out small yelps of pain, struggling against the demon cat for a bit before losing the battle. Badly. Hinata had to admit, almost nothing could beat an enraged runaway cat.

"OW! NO! DON'T BITE THERE!" Hinata looked away, wanting to help Naruto but unwilling to look. Just yet.

"Okay," Kakashi held one thumb up. "Nice job. We'll bring this back to their owners now." He pushed off his feet and traveled swiftly to the Hokage Office, Sasuke easily following him and Hinata and Naruto pushing themselves to the limit just to keep up.

When Hinata stopped, out of breath and panting heavily, she noticed the lord's wife hugging her cat tight as if there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, my little cat-chan! I thought I'd never see you ever again!" she squealed girlishly. The cat meowed painfully, squirming desperately out of her crushing arms and straight to Naruto, where he started to claw him again.

"OWOWOWOWOWOW! NO - QUIT THAT! OWW! NOT THERE! I TOLD YOU _NOT THERE_!" Hinata looked away again.

When the daimyo and his wife left, Naruto was covered in cat scratches and bites and Hinata was busy applying disinfectant on them. Naruto winced every time. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. No - wait - it's okay, you don't have to do there, _'tebayo_."

_Glad not to, _Hinata thought.

"Good job completing your tenth D-rank mission," the elderly Third Hokage said while puffing on his pipe. "Now next," he unraveled the D-rank missions waiting to be completed. "You can either clean up a woman's house, weed her garden, walk some dogs, clean up the Academy, scrub toilets in another person's house - "

"Oi oi oi oiiiiii!" Naruto cut in. "I don't _want to _do more boring D-rank missions! Like, seriously, _dattebayo_! I'm getting tired of them!" he bounced up and down just to prove his point.

"Naruto!" Kakashi snapped sharply. "Quit that. You've been a genin for about two days." he turned to the Sandaime. "Terribly sorry, Hokage-sama - "

"No, it's okay," the Third murmured, chuckling lightly. "I'm used to Konohamaru. Not offended in the least bit."

"So can we have a higher ranking mission? _Please_, _dattebayo_?" Naruto begged.

The Hokage paused for a moment, taking a long drag out of his pipe, his eyes fixed on the sky thoughtfully. "Very well," he said after a long pause. "I will give you a C-rank mission - "

"WHOO! YESSSSS!" Naruto pumped his fists up in the air, his scratches totally forgotten. On closer inspection, they were gone altogether. Hinata felt confusion spark up in her. How was that possible?

"Your mission will be to escort an important bridge builder from Konoha to the Land of the Waves, Tazuna-san. All you will need to do is protect him as he goes to the Land of the Waves. Gangs, robbers, those kinds of stuff."

"Yeah! Whoo! Awesome, _'tebayo_!" he pumped his fists up and down and jumped on the spot, doing a little dance. Sasuke rolled his eyes an Kakashi snorted, amused.

Footsteps were heard behind the door, and Hinata activated her Byakugan, forming her hand seal automatically. It was an old man, obviously drunk. His levels of chakra weren't developed well, which meant that he wasn't a ninja, and couldn't defend himself properly. A hat was perched on his head, a towel around his neck and he carried something on his back. His features also included glasses, a beard and a giant, bulging belly.

"Hn? These are the - " the rest of his sentence was so slurred that Hinata couldn't make heads or tails of it. He swayed from side to side before managing to pronounce a few more words. "And who is the short kid with the funny face?"

Naruto burst out laughing, looking around. "Yeah, who _is _the short kid with the funny face, eh, Sasuke - " he abruptly broke off after he noticed that Sasuke was a good two inches above him, and Hinata herself managed a few centimetres.

_"Nani, dattebayo?!" _

"Hold on, Naruto! We're _escorting _this guy, not killing him!" Kakashi snarled, holding back a furious Naruto, struggling relentlessly in his arms. Naruto sighed, and reluctantly went limp.

"Fine, _dattebayo_," he murmured grumpily.

Kakashi turned and looked at the rest of his team. "Go and pack lightly for the trip to the Waves," he told them. "We're leaving soon."

* * *

Hinata's footsteps clacked on the ground as she followed her group. The sky was a beautiful blue, sunny, with no clouds for miles. She hummed lightly at the pleasant scene. The warm sun took her away from her father calling her a disgrace in front of the entire family, or even - Kami forbid - Neji-niichan. She sidestepped a rain puddle and continued on her way.

_Wait a minute...it's sunny, with no clouds!_

She whipped around, but the ninjas were already leaping from the puddle. _What kind of jutsu is that? I've never seen it before!_

They gripped a large, spiky chain in which they quickly cut their sensei in pieces with.

_"Kakashi-sensei!" _Naruto called frantically.

Sasuke threw a shuriken and pinned the chain to a tree, followed with a kunai to reinforce it. "Well?" he questioned, a smirk on his face. "What are you going to do?"

"Arrogant child," one of them rumbled as they ripped free of the chain encircling their hands. One of them lunged for Naruto, slashing through his skin and leaving him yelping and stumbling, before falling to the ground. Sasuke attacked him, and he managed to kick him back several metres. He looked at naruto, smirking again.

"Are you alright, Baby-kun?" he questioned.

_"Sasuke!" _

Hinata jumped in front of Tazuna, and the second stood in front of her.

"Now," he murmured. "Be a good girl and step away from the old geezer. I don't want to have to use force."

Hinata formed a hand seal. _"Byakugan!" _Her _dojutsu _activated and she took a Gentle Fist stance, before attacking a spot with no organs. Still, the shinobi winced and stumbled back, and Hinata dug her heel back, attacking his liver. She stepped forward, before realizing her mistake*.

_"No!" _but already the first of the brothers were lunging for Tazuna, the defenseless old man looking terrified. Sasuke ran desperately, but she knew that he wasn't going to make it in time. They were going to fail their first C-rank mission, and it was because of her.

_Bam!  
_

Hinata stared in shock as Kakashi drove his fist into the man's stomach, before said man coughing up blood and falling to his knees. The one she was facing lunged for her, and before she knew it, Kakashi was standing in front of her, the ninja tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"K-K-Kakashi-sensei! You're alive!" she looked at the so-called 'body' and realized that he had used the replacement technique.

"Oi, oi, oi! Kakashi-sensei! You scared us!" Naruto protested. "You made us think that you were dead, _dattebayo_!"

"Ignore me, Naruto," Kakashi stated. "Look at your wound. That blade is poisoned. If we don't get treatment immediately, you'll most likely..."

"Eh?" Naruto squinted in confusion. "What will I 'most likely', what?"

"_Die_."

"Ehhhhhhhh?!" Naruto backed away, his face suddenly pale, and Hinata felt panic rising up in her.

"I'm sorry, Tazuna, but we'll have to go back to Konoha. And, plus, I'll need to talk to you. These are chuunins - missing-nins, in fact - from Kirigakure." he looked at Tazuna with one eye. "You said that they would need to protect you from bandits. Let's have a talk later, after we've treated Naruto."

_Splat! _

Hinata spun around only to meet a splatter of thick, black blood on the ground. Naruto had a kunai in his hand, and he was grinning.

"Like I'm going to hold anyone back," he stated. "I'm going with you guys, whether you like it or not!"

_Wow...Naruto-kun actually stabbed out all the poisoned blood from his hand willingly..._ Hinata closed her eyes in shame. _I would never have the guts to do something like that. _

As they neared water, they mounted a boat in which Kakashi and Sasuke paddled. Sasuke grunted and panted to keep up with Kakashi's speed, but the former ANBU member wasn't even breathing hard as he talked to Tazuna.

"So...I see. You're defying this Gato person, because he doesn't want you to build the bridge, and you pretended it was only bandits so that you wouldn't have to pay as much." Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my team can't take this mission. Protecting you from higher-ranking ninja is at least an A-rank mission. Genins take only D-rank and C-rank. We're leaving as soon as we get on land."

"What?" Naruto protested. "But that's not fair!"

"Y-y-yeah!" Hinata chimed in, albeit a little less enthusiastic. "I-I don't think it would be very impressive to him if we ditched him to Gato's mercy."

Sasuke grunted in agreement. "We aren't little cowards that run away from dangerous missions."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Hn? You sure? This mission will get a lot more dangerous starting now. After we defeated the Demon Brothers, Gato is sure to send in more powerful ninjas, possibly all exiled or S-rank."

"Who cares?" Sasuke countered. Hinata looked at him in confusion. Why was he so eager to take on such a dangerous mission?

Their boat hit land, and they got off. There was a lot of mist surrounding, and Hinata activated her Byakugan to see. Suddenly, she bit her lip and shouted, "G-g-get back!" she grabbed onto Tazuna's sleeve and hit the ground, dragging him along with her. He grunted painfully as he landed.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke followed her example, and senbons narrowly missed them.

"Nice, Hinata!" Kakashi congratulated, and Hinata yet again felt blush across her face.

"Th-th-there was chakra embedded in the mist...so I thought.."

"Hn?" a new voice rang out, and the mist cleared slightly as the five of them craned their heads to get a good look at their new attacker. "So one of you have a Kekkei Genkai. No wonder you defeated the Brothers."

The mist cleared again, and Hinata, with her Byakugan still activated, squeaked, terrified.

"What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"H-h-his ch-chakra...it's so strong...it's like something I've never seen before..this guy is r-r-really strong."

The mist revealed a tall man with pale skin, short spiky black hair and brown eyes. His forehead protector was tied on his forehead, but tilted sideways. Bandages covered the lower half of his face, sort of like a mask. He was (shudder) shirtless, with only a belt that strapped an enormous sword. His pants were baggy and striped, and mimetic wrist warmers extended up to his elbows, with identical leg warmers.

"The Kubikiribocho," Kakashi muttered under his breath beside her. Louder, he said, "So, it's you. One of the missing-nin from Kirigakure, one of the former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from the Mist, the Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza. I'm honored to meet you."

The so-called Zabuza chuckled eerily behind his bandaged mask. "And you must be Kakashi, the Copy Ninja." Hinata wasn't sure, but somehow she knew that he was grinning with anticipation under his mask. "Let's have some fun, now, shall we?"

* * *

**Fight scene next chapter. Review, give me CC, anything! Just don't randomly flame. At least flame for a good reason or else you'll just look like some loser that doesn't have anything better to do than read fanfiction about Naruto and yell at the author afterwards. **

*** = Just in case you didn't get Hinata's mistake, it was stepping forward and leaving Tazuna open and defenseless. **

**-Sky**


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